For whatever reason, it’s been awhile since I’ve indulged in a little cross-promotion.

But as some of you already have discovered (see comments on previous posting), there’s a story on Jed Ortmeyer’s medical history appearing in tomorrow’s print edition that’s already available online. It details his past health problems, including pulmonary embolisms that almost took his life while he was training for the 2006-07 season with the New York Rangers. At that point he discovered he had a genetic blood clotting disorder and it’s taken extraordinary steps to keep his NHL career going.

Do me a favor. Find the link in the right-hand column under “Sharks Headlines” and check out the story so I don’t have to repeat a lot of the information here. Because what I’d like to do is provide some bonus coverage, material that I couldn’t squeeze into the story that I found pretty interesting and figure you might, too.

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****Ortmeyer does a terrific job explaining a complicated medical condition in understandable terms. That may be because his mother is a cardiac nurse — and she did a good job of talking with her son when he needed to grasp what was going on.

“She deals with this so, she’s been great to explain things in laymen’s terms, too,” Ortmeyer said. “She knows the medical terminology and can translate for me.”

****After he first experienced clotting after knee surgery at Michigan following his sophomore year, Ortmeyer was taking the blood thinner Coumadin. But because it stays in the system for seven to 10 days, he couldn’t play hockey while the drug was in his system. Later, he switched to Lovenox because it stayed in the system 12 hours and he could time the injections so that he was protected while he was off the ice.

“When you’re working out or skating, your muscles are pumping so you’re not at risk of clotting,” Ortmeyer explained. “Down time, that’s when you’re at risk. In the afternoon after practice, in the 12-hour span between evening and the next day, I’ll take a shot so it’s out of my system by the next practice.”

****The filter that Ortmeyer had implanted in his mid-section is a removable one, which means that if enough clots collect there, it can be removed, cleaned and returned to its spot just below the rib cage. Initially, all filters were permanent and doctors said Ortmeyer was too young to have one put in.

****Lab work is done regularly to look for new clots.

“I go in regularly for ultrasounds in the legs to make sure there’s no clot,” Ortmeyer said. “We probably do it once a month, or every other month or so, depending on our schedule.”

****Genetic testing showed that Ortmeyer’s parents not only passed the predisposition for deep vein thrombosis to Jed, but also to his two bothers and sisters. One brother, Jake, played hockey at the college level and in the minors before retiring in 2008.

“None of them have had any problem,” Ortmeyer said, “but they carry the gene.”

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****Ortmeyer stopped short of saying he was wronged by the Nashville organization, but he clearly wasn’t happy about spending the bulk of last season in Milwaukee and getting into only two NHL games after his recovery from a second knee surgery complete with clotting complications.

“They wanted to make sure I could still play so they sent me to Milwaukee,” Ortmeyer said. “My thought was I was going there for conditioning but I ended up staying there most of the year. I definitely wasn’t happy about that. It wasn’t the plan that we had talked about.”

But he said he’s past the point where that provides any added incentive for Tuesday night’s game.

“Obviously you want to do well against any of your previous teams,” he said, “but that’s definitely not something I worry about any further.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

Why dont they try to bring Giggy here?He’ll be a lot closer to his son,although he’s probably a big cap hit.

campbell fin

Sorry I meant alot closer to his son as opposed to playing in Toronto.Whats the deal with this organization not having any francophone starting goalies-ever?

Simon

Thanks to Nick for being a smart arse. Deep vein thrombosis is a side effect. There are tons of different clotting disorders. Sorry I asked. I thought perhaps it might help people who have the disorder know that someone like Orty is not only living with the condition but thriving.

campbell fin

So let me get this straight,I live near the Shark tank,95008 is 10 minutes from the tank,but my hockey team is going to be pre-epmted(sp)by the sacramento kings?Is this comcast turning the screws to any one with DTV or is this also happening on Dish?what the f..k is going on here?

Tracy

Wow, was that snarky of NickG. As someone with a “blood clotting disorder” who’s suffered similar problems as Ortmeyer, there are many, many possible genetic conditions he could have. Mine is Factor V Leiden (FVL) – it’s highly common. I’m wondering if that is what Ortmeyer has. Sadly for me my doctors are leaving me on coumadin (Lovenox is HUGELY expensive) and not allowing me to play hockey any longer.

NickG, may you never find yourself in the undesirable position of visiting your hematologist monthly to try to find out which “hereditary blood clotting disorder” you have – I don’t think the doctor would appreciate your Googling!